Article support



J. S. GUlLES May 14, 1968 ARTI CLE SUPPORT 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 19, 1966 J. S. GUlLES ARTICLE SUPPORT May 14, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 19, 1966 United States Patent Office 3,383,120 Patented May 14, 1958 3,383,120 ARTICLE SUPPORT Jeremy S. Guiles, Cape Elizabeth, Maine (Box 801, Portland, Maine 04104) Filed May 19, 1966, Ser. No. 551,352 Claims. (Cl. 28133) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Article support having covers and supporting structures erected into a positive supporting position by the act of opening the covers to a predetermined extent.

The present invention relates to article supports of the type having hinged covers and parts that fold into supporting portions when the covers are opened to a predetermined extent.

Such supports are useful as book holders, albums, and lecterns, for example, and each has a filler and an outer cover. The filler includes a central strip and side members hinged thereto. The outer cover has a back strip and cover members hinged thereto with the rear edge of the cover being an angular projection that is obtuse when the support is closed. The back strip has a transverse fold line dividing it into upper and lower parts and each cover member has two fold lines dividing it into an upper part which is secured to the corresponding part of a side member of the filler, and into lower and intermediate parts foldable relative to the anchored part, to the back strip, and to each other. One fold line extends from an edge defining the lower corner of the cover member to the apex of the rear edge and the other fold line extends from an edge defining such lower corner to the upper end of the back strip.

Opening of such an article support is attended by the folding of the outer cover parts and the rearward movement of the apex of the rear edge of the support relative to the central strip of the filler with the angularity of the rear edge decreasing. When the lower part of the back strip is manually pushed inwardly so that the back strip defines an acute angle relative to the central strip, the intermediate and lower parts of the cover members are folded into and maintained in positions in which their junctions present approximately linear supporting portions, each supporting portion defining an acute angle relative to the associated anchored cover member part.

The objective of the present invention is to provide each article support with means operable, as the support is opened, to effect the acute angular relationship of the back strip relative to the central strip thereby to establish and maintain positively the linear supporting portions without manipulations other than the opening of the support to a predetermined extent.

Another objective of the invention is to provide such means in the form of a flexible member secured at its ends to the upper and lower parts of the back strip of the outer cover and slidably held by an anchor fixed on the central strip of the filler. Yet another objective is to have the angular change in the back strip of the outer cover resiliently effected as by providing it with a spring or by a resilient connection between the lower part of the back strip of the outer cover and the filler.

In the accompanying drawings, there are shown illustrative embodiments of the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages will be apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an article support in accordance with the invention, the support being closed,

FIGURE 2 is a view of the back of the article support,

FIGURE 3 is a side view thereof,

FIGURE 4 is a bottom end view of the article support showing it as partly opened,

FIGURE 5 is a like view but with the article support fully opened,

FIGURE 6 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 66 of FIGURE 5,

FIGURE 7 is a like view illustrating another embodiment of the invention, and

FIGURE 8 is an edge view of a spring to be incorporated in the back strip of the outer cover.

An article support in accordance with the invention is shown as consisting of a filler consisting of side members 10 and 11 hingedly connected to opposite margins of a rigid central strip 12, the hinge lines being indicated at 13 and 14.

Secured to the inner surface of the central strip 12 is a generally indicated unit 15 provided with a series of split rings 16 adapted to be opened or closed by means of the actuators 17. As the unit is conventional and forms no part of this invention, it is not further detailed.

An outer cover consists of a back strip generally indicated at 18, and generally indicated cover members 19 and 20 hingedly connected thereto, their hinge or fold lines being indicated at 21 and 22, respectively. The rear edge of the outer cover is in the form of an angular projection that is obtuse with reference to the central filler strip 12 when the support is closed. See FIGURE 3. The back strip 18 is divided into an upper part 18A and a lower part 18B by a transverse hinge or fold line 18C at the apex of the rear edge.

Each of the cover members 19 and 20 has hinges or fold lines 23 and 24 shown as commencing at a common point on the bottom edge near the free or outer end thereof, the line 23 extending to the upper end of the rear edge of the support and defining an upper part, and the line 24 extending to the apex of the rear edge and dividing the remainder of that cover member into intermediate and lower parts.

The upper, intermediate, and lower parts of the cover members are identified by the SLlfi'lX designations A, B, and C, respectively, added to the appropriate reference numeral.

The upper parts 19A and 20A of the cover members are secured to the corresponding portions of the side members 10 and 11, respectively, so that when the support is opened the tree cover member parts fold relative to each other, to the back strip 18, and to the appropriate fixed cover member parts and the back strip 18 folds to decrease its angular relationship relative to the central filler strip 12. The parts of the outer cover can fold an an extent such that, when the support is open to a predetermined extent, the junction of the intermediate and lower parts of each cover member is presented as a substantially linear supporting portion disposed at an acute angle relative to the plane inclusive of the appropriate upper part and the back strip 8 defines an acute angular re-ationship relative to the central filler strip 12. Such folding of the outer cover parts results in the apex represented by the fold lines 18C moving away from the central strip 12 of the filler.

The disposition and maintenance of the intermediate and lower parts of the cover members so folded as to establish their junctions as linear supporting portions requires that the back strip 18 be folded from an obtuse into an acute angular relationship. 1

To avoid the necessity of manipulations other than opening the support to a predetermined extent to elfect that acute angular relationship of the back strip 18, a connection in the form of a length of wire 25 is anchored as at 26 to the lower part 188 of the back strip 18 near its lower end and to the upper part 18A adjacent the fold line 18C as at 27, the wire passing through an eye 28 secured to the central strip 12 of the filler above the position occupied by the anchor 26 when the back strip 18 defines its acute angular relationship relative to the central filler 12, as is illustrated in FIGURE 6. The wire 25 is dimensioned so that when the support is opened, a pull is eX- erted on the lower part 1813 of the back strip that is operative to effect the folding of the back strip 18 into the required acute angular relationship, the pull resulting from the fact that the folding of the parts of the outer cover moves the apex of its back edge rearwardly relative to the central strip 12 of the filler.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIG- URE 7, the same reference numerals are employed to designate coresponding parts as the only difference is in the connection operable to pull, as the support is opened, the back strip 18 into its acute angular relationship relative to the central strip 12 of the filler. In this embodiment of the invention, the connection is a resilient member 29, shown as a length of material having lengthwise elasticity and anchored at 30 to the lower part 18B of the back strip 18 and at 31 to an intermediate zone of the central filler strip 12.

In FIGURE 8 a generally indicated spring 32 is shown for incorporation in the back strip of the outer cover, the spring 32 having a series of holes 33 for rivets by which it may be anchored in place and yield to permit the required obtuse angular relationship of the back strip when the support is closed and to be operative to establish the desired acute angular relationship thereof when the support is opened for use. The spring end portion 32A is anchored to the upper back part 18A of the back strip and the other spring end 3213 is anchored to the lower back 18B thereof.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the invention makes use of the movement of the outer cover away from the filler, as the support is opened, to change the angular relationship of the back strip to the filler strip from obtuse to acute.

I claim:

1. In an article support, a filler including a central strip and side members hinged thereto, an outer cover including a back strip and cover members hinged thereto, the rear edge of said cover being an angular projection which is obtuse when the support is closed, the back strip having a transverse fold line at the apex of said projection dividing the back strip into upper and lower parts, and each cover member having two fold lines dividing it into an upper part secured to the corresponding portion of a side filler member and into lower and intermediate parts foldable relative to the anchored part, to the back strip and to each other, one fold line extending to said apex from an edge defining the lower corner, the other fold line extending to the upper end of the back strip from an edge defining the lower corner, opening of the support being attended by the folding of the outer cover parts, the

rearward movement of the apex relative to the central strip of the tiller, the parts being so foldable that the back strip defines an acute angle relative to the central strip and that the junction of the intermediate and lower parts of the cover members is then presented as approximately linear supporting portions, each defining an acute angle with the associated anchored part, and means incorporated in said support and operable by movement of said outer cover away from said filler, as the support is opened, to change the angular relationship of the back strip relative to the central strip from obtuse to acute thereby to establish and maintain said linear supports.

2. The article support of claim 1 in which the angle changing means is a connection between the filler and the outer cover so located relative to said apex and so dimensioned relative to such movement as to exert a folding pull on the back strip.

3. The article support of claim 2 in which the connection is a flexible member anchored at its ends to the outer cover and the filler has a connector to which the member is slidably connected.

4. The article support of claim 3 in which the connection is a flexible member anchored at its ends to the back strip of the outer cover above and below its fold line and the connector is located close to the position occupied by the lower end of the back strip in the acute angular position thereof.

5. The article support of claim 2 in which the connection is a flexible member anchored at one end to the back strip above but near its fold line and at its other end below and remote from that told line, and the connector is located close to but above the position occupied by the last named anchor position when the back strip is in its acute angular position.

6. The article of claim 2 in which the connection is a flexible inextensible member.

7. The article of claim 1 in which the angle changing means is resilient.

8. The article of claim 2 in which the connection has lengthwise elasticity.

9. The article of claim 2 in which the connection is resilient and is connected to the back strip of the outer cover adjacent the bottom end thereof and to the central strip of the filler above the position occupied by that end in the acute angular position of the back strip.

10. The article of claim 7 in which the angle changing means is a spring including end portions having a normal acute angular relationship, one end portion being anchored to the upper part of the back strip and the other end portion being anchored to the lower part thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,587,316 2/1952 Henry 28133 X 2,883,209 4/1959 Erickson 28133 3,199,897 8/1965 Wolfe 28 l33 3,210,094 10/1965 Sloves '28133 LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner. 

